Illinois football team already looking ahead to next season

Thursday

Dec 30, 2010 at 12:01 AMDec 30, 2010 at 5:26 AM

Illinois started only five seniors against Baylor, but the key to next season will be the decisions from three star juniors -- running back Mikel Leshoure, defensive tackle Corey Liuget and middle linebacker Martez Wilson. Illinois finished 7-6 for only the second winning record in the past nine seasons, and the Illini play eight home games next year for the first time in school history while trying to produce back-to-back winning seasons since the 1989-90.

John Supinie

A mid-level bowl victory doesn't create much of a window to celebrate. So it's already time to talk about 2011 for Illinois football after the 38-14 win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl on Wednesday.

Illinois started only five seniors against Baylor, but the key to next season will be the decisions from three star juniors -- running back Mikel Leshoure, defensive tackle Corey Liuget and middle linebacker Martez Wilson. Illinois finished 7-6 for only the second winning record in the past nine seasons, and the Illini play eight home games next year for the first time in school history while trying to produce back-to-back winning seasons since the 1989-90.

Leshoure, a second-team All-American who set the school's single-season rushing record with 1,697 yards and also broke four other school records and tied one more, isn't expected to return.

He rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns against Baylor to earn the bowl game MVP trophy and a white Stetson.

The chances of Liuget and Wilson returning appear stronger, but, like Leshoure, they filed paperwork with the NFL to investigate their draft stock.

"We don't have that many seniors leaving,'' said coach Ron Zook. "That's the great thing. We may lose a couple guys because they may come out. We've got a great nucleus coming back. We've got a quarterback that will do nothing but get better. We've got a pretty good running back if Mikel decides not to come back.''

Leshoure broke the single-season rushing mark of 1,681 set by Rashard Mendenhall, who jumped after his junior season to become a first-round pick. The Illini didn't find a suitable replacement until going with Leshoure this fall. Junior running backs Jason Ford and Troy Pollard will return, but the offense may rely less on the running game.

"That was great for Nathan,'' Petrino said. "A lot of people are hard on him and how he throws the ball. He kept improving, and that's a great way to go into the offseason.''

After lifting a defense from 91st nationally in 2009 to 38th heading into bowl season, defensive coordinator Vic Koenning's next challenge is building depth, but losing Liuget and/or Wilson would be a big blow.

"They will go through the process the right way,'' Koenning said. "You're crazy not to wish them to have the opportunity, if it's the right opportunity. Those two young men have been our best leaders. The depth issue is something we've got to fix. We'll do that with recruiting. We played a bunch of cats (against Baylor).''

Redshirt freshman Steve Hull, a converted wide receiver, made the first start of his career against Baylor. Freshman linebacker Jonathan Brown played in the final 12 games, showing promise as a lead linebacker down the road. Freshman bandit Brandon Denmark made plays on special teams.

Freshmen Jake Howe and Austin Teitsma redshirted, and Illini coaches are high on the two defensive tackles. Howe grew to 300 pounds, and Teitsma is a 280-pounder.

The grand plan also relies upon Petrino and Koenning sticking around. Petrino assuredly wants a head-coaching job, but he may get a little picky because staying at Illinois isn't a bad option.

"I'm here,'' said Petrino, who kept from guaranteeing he'll be here next season. "We're going to do some great things, and it will be fun. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but I think it is. It's exciting. We've got eight home games next year. The future is really bright.''

Koenning's desire to stay would probably revolve around his ability to run the defense his way. A former defensive coordinator, Zook likely doesn't give Koenning the same freedom as Petrino.

Although it didn't entirely ease the pain from a season of ifs -- three losses came by 2, 2 and 4 points -- the first bowl win in four tries for Zook turned down the heat after beginning the year with questions over his job security.

"I was so happy and proud of our players and happy for our fans,'' Zook said. "We've had some bumps in the road. We've had some dry spells at Illinois.''

After improving by four wins this season, everybody already wants to know what Zook's Illini can do next season. That's better than the alternative.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

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A glance at 2011

Offense

Illinois set a single-season school record for points in a season (423). The Illini averaged 42.1 points over the last seven games. But the Illini must likely find a replacement for running back Mikel Leshoure, who is expected to jump to the NFL after scoring 16 touchdowns in the last six games.

Defense

Was Steve Hull's start at safety against Baylor a sign of the future? That's hard to say, because the Illini will have more depth in the backfield after requiring position changes to fill the lineup this fall. Safety Trulon Henry is the leading candidate to replace Nate Bussey at linebacker. Tavon Wilson would like to move back to cornerback from safety, and cornerback Terry Hawthorne made his first start in 2010 against Baylor after recovering from foot problems. Junior safety Supo Sanni is expected back from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Special teams

Senior punter Anthony Santella leaves big shoes to fill. There might not be a replacement currently on the roster.

Schedule

Sept. 3 -- vs. Arkansas State

Sept. 10 -- vs. South Dakota State

Sept. 17 -- vs. Arizona State

Sept. 24 -- vs. Western Michigan

Oct. 1 -- vs. Northwestern

Oct. 8 -- at Indiana

Oct. 15 -- vs. Ohio State

Oct. 22 -- at Purdue

Oct. 29 -- at Penn State

Nov. 12 -- vs. Michigan

Nov. 19 -- vs. Wisconsin

Nov. 26 -- at Minnesota

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